Mass. State Police trooper accused of trapping woman, intimidating her with 6 knives
A Massachusetts State Police trooper from Plymouth is being held without bail after his arrest on domestic violence charges in connection with an incident in which police say he trapped a woman in her apartment, threw her to the ground and approached her while carrying six knives.
The trooper, Joseph Ward, 25, faces two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count each of kidnapping, aggravated intimidation of a witness and assault and battery on a family/household member.
In a statement, Ward's attorney Greg Henning said there was "no corroboration or even an attempt to verify her claims before police put him (Ward) in handcuffs."
"Joe absolutely denies the allegations," Henning said. "If our investigation reveals that the accuser lied to law enforcement, we hope the District Attorney's Office will reconsider its position."
Ward was relieved of duty by Massachusetts State Police following his arrest, a spokesperson for the agency said.
"The Massachusetts State Police maintains a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of domestic violence," the spokesperson said, adding the agency was cooperating with the investigation.
The incident that led to charges against Ward took place on Jan. 10. The woman he is accused of assaulting didn't report the incident until weeks later, on Jan. 28.
The woman arrived at the Plymouth police station early in the morning of Jan. 28. While officers typically wear body cameras, the woman said she didn't want her interview to be recorded.
During the interview, the woman was "visibly distraught" with tears in her eyes and often had to pause to find her words, Sgt. Brendan Rix wrote in a police report filed in court to support the charges against Ward.
Around 5 p.m. on Jan. 10, the woman said, Ward confronted her in the apartment they shared, telling her he wanted to have a "serious conversation" because he had noticed a change in her behavior. The woman told police she tried to avoid the conversation with Ward, waiting for the right time to tell him she intended to end the relationship.
Ward was insistent and demanded she call out of work, according to the report. As the night progressed, Ward began acting erratically and the woman tried to leave the apartment. But Ward physically blocked the doorway, sitting and standing in front of it with the woman pleading with him to let her leave for more than an hour, according to the report.
The woman texted a friend, which caught Ward's attention and sent him down a "constant loop of questioning and not making sense in a manic state," according to the report. Ward began to throw furniture around the apartment as he asked the woman who she was texting.
Ward then "grabbed (the woman), forcibly gripping her by both her arms, picking her up off the ground, shoving backwards, on to the couch, and on to the floor," according to the report. He then went to the kitchen and grabbed six knives from the magnetic strip they were mounted on and began to walk towards the woman, Rix wrote.
The woman said she "was so overcome with fear causing her legs to give out as she was afraid he was finally going to kill her," according to the report. "During this time, she had lost sight and blacked out unable to see due to the overwhelming fear she was placed in."
While she was still on the ground, the woman saw Ward make his way to his gun safe, where he retrieved a pistol, loaded it and holstered it to his waistline while continuing to scream that the woman was not leaving, according to the report.
The woman said there was "no reasoning with him, getting through to him, as he was completely manic in one of his episodes," Rix wrote.
At some point, the woman managed to get out of the apartment, but Ward chased her down in the hallway, tackled her, and dragged her back to the apartment by the legs, closing and locking the apartment when they returned, according to the report.
Ward blamed the woman for the confrontation, then asked that they leave the apartment because he feared police would be called, Rix wrote. The woman complied, fearing for her life and the couple got in her car and began driving away from the apartment complex.
During the drive, the person the woman had texted earlier in the night pulled up behind them, leading the woman to pull over. She and the other person were able to talk Ward down, and she left with the other person, who drove her to her parents' house.
The next day, the woman moved out of the apartment. She told police she waited to report the incident because she didn't want Ward to get in trouble or lose his job, according to the report.
Ward was taken into custody at the State Police Middleboro Barracks on Jan. 28 and brought to the Plymouth Police station to be booked. A Plymouth District Court judge ordered him held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Feb. 2, court records show.
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